As the Internet continues to grow in popularity and becomes an integral part of every day life, more and more people and businesses use it for various reasons. For example, businesses use the Internet to promote their products and services with hopes that consumers will use and purchase them. Thus, without question, many businesses believe that presence on the Internet is an important and necessary component for staying competitive in today's marketplace.
There are currently hundreds of businesses that advertise, promote, and sell health-related products/services through the Internet. As is well known, the health industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and it continues to grow exponentially. Part of the reason for such high cost associated with the health industry is the administration burdens placed on these health-related businesses.
For example, there are literally millions of records, forms, documents, etc., that are generated in this industry. For insurance personnel, the process of securing the millions of records and documents from health care providers, clinics, hospitals and other entities is a nightmare. Insurance personnel obtaining individual records and documents from multiple sources using postal mail, telephone, and fax are faced with long delays and errors in receipt of these time-sensitive records and documents. As a result, insurance personnel become easily frustrated and expend a considerable amount of time and money obtaining individual records and documents from health care providers.
In today's highly competitive marketplace, there is a great need for insurance companies and personnel to provide the most optimal service to their customers. In particular, there is a great need for a more efficient, reliable, and cost-saving method and system for obtaining health-related records and documents of patients. The inventors of the present invention believe that no comprehensive method and system exist today that allow insurance companies and personnel to obtain health-related records and documents of patients by using a single online web site on the Internet.